Colonel Fair received his commission through the Officers Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, during World War II. He served as an infantryman in the Pacific Theater, where he earned the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Purple Heart in the Philippines. After the war, he earned a BS degree in History from the University of Missouri in 1946, and an MA degree in geography from the University of Virginia in 1949, a second MA in political science from Columbia University, NYC in 1956, and a third MS degree in counseling from Henderson State University in Arkansas in 1975. Returning to the Army, he was a Foreign Area Specialist, specializing in Russia. Other assignments included Japan, Germany, the US Military Academy, Yugoslavia, and Vietnam. He was a qualified parachutist and fluent in both Russian and Serbo-Croatian. His awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Soldiers Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Joint Services Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. He is survived by his wife, Sherry, three daughters: Chris, Leslie, and Debbie, and a son, William.